Electronic components are handled by a wide variety of different electronic component handlers. These different handlers include but are not limited to products sold by Electro Scientific Industries Inc. of Portland, Oreg., the assignee of the present patent application. Electro Scientific Industries sells a variety of electronic component handlers including, but not limited to, a high volume MLCC tester sold as the model No. 3300, a chip array tester sold as the model No. 3400, a visual test system sold as the model No. 6650, and a chip array terminator sold as the model No. 753.
One such electronic component testing machine is described in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,579 entitled Electrical Circuit Component Handler. With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown an overall pictorial view of the electrical circuit component handler of U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,579, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIG. 2 illustrates a handler 10 having a plurality of test accessories thereon including a loading, or load, frame 12, a plurality of test modules 14 and a blowoff module 16. In operation, electronic components are passed through load frame 12 and are individually drawn into test seats 22 found on a test plate 20. Test seats 22 typically are concentric rings that are continuous about test plate 20.
With more specific reference to load frame 12 and with specific reference to FIG. 2A, load frame 12 includes a plurality of arcuate fences 13. Arcuate fences 13 allow electronic components 11 to be collected adjacent fences 13 as shown. The bases of arcuate fences 13 are slightly spaced above test plate 20 as to prevent passing or catching of electronic components beneath arcuate fences 13. The spacing between the arcuate fences 13 and test plate 20 defines a gap labeled by the letter A. U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,579 indicates that the gap A is set by shims.
Test plate 20 indexes in a direction toward test modules 14 as indicated by Arrow B as shown in FIG. 2. The electronic components are tested by test modules 14. As test plate 20 continues to index the electronic components are then withdrawn from the component handler 10 by the blowoff module 16.
With continued reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,579, it may be necessary to change test plate 20. For example, test plate 20 may require changing if it becomes worn or by way of another example, test plate 20 may be changed to accommodate handling of different types of electronic components. In such situations, the test accessories, such as load frame 12, must be moved out of the way so that the old test plate may be removed and the new test plate added. The test accessories must then be put back in place setting a proper gap between the test accessories and test plate. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,579, this gap, and in particular the gap between the load frame and the test plate, was set by using shims. The exclusive use of shims is time consuming and cumbersome.